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Letter to the Sports Editor…Government must intervene to restore credibility to the GCB

Dec 30, 2015 Sports

Dear Editor,

The successful passage of the Cricket Administration Bill in 2013 through Parliament has had no legal effect to date regarding the democratic and transparent function of the Guyana Cricket Board. In fact the GCB is still being micro-managed by a selected few who remains defiant against the will of the majority of stakeholders of cricket within the three counties. Dr. Rupert Roopnarine, who is the current Minister of Education with responsibility for sports, supported the Bill when in opposition. However, there has been no public pronouncement from him regarding the implementation of the Bill which shall pave the way for free and fair elections.
The Government must signal its intentions early and firmly thus ensuring that the national sport is not tainted with illegality, given the many audits that have been done at several state institutions.
The state of West Indies cricket is at the cross-roads and while there is optimism for the future, it will require strong leadership at the level of every territorial Board for any significant advancement to be made in an effort to reversing the flagging status of the team. The GCB is without such leadership as the Board is being managed like a private club. Notwithstanding the plausible success of the various national teams, I am of the firm view that the organizational structure of the GCB is lacking the quality and experience it deserves for the long term success. As a result the continued isolation of the Berbice Cricket Board along with other key stakeholders including East Coast Cricket Board, Georgetown Cricket Association and even Linden from institutional participation including consultation have rendered the GCB as being a toothless tiger.
It seems as though decisions are being made by an exclusive few, some of whom have never held a bat, yet they affix their signatures as a matter of policy for the future of the players. Is there a functioning Cricket Development Committee of the GCB? I doubt it since the manner in which tournaments have been conceptualized and implemented leaves much to be desired. The just concluded franchise league had three matches planned for Essequibo. Instead only one materialized which the Essequibo team won. Why the other two matches weren’t held which would have given the team home advantage just like the other teams?
The Essequibo Cricket Board is the only legitimate body within the structure of the GCB (BCB continues to boycott the GCB, while there is no constitutional DCB), yet the ECB has no voice to prevent the manipulation of tournaments even when they are to the disadvantage of its own players! I am therefore imploring on the Government to act swiftly towards resolving the various issues as it relates to governance so that the credibility of the GCB can be restored from the negative image it has currently created.
Yours Faithfully,
Elroy Stephney.

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